Week 15 Famous Last Words: Keeping up Training

Caption: A runner. Link.

My famous last words for this week: I ran a half marathon on Sunday. It was hard because I hadn't been training as much as I should have. However, I was still able to run the whole thing and I had a great time. My boyfriend ran it, too, but we ran it separately. I couldn't keep up with him, to be honest! Instead, I ran with my sister-in-law. It was easier for me that way because she hadn't been training even as much as I had been for it, so I could easily keep her pace and I didn't ever get too winded or feel like I couldn't keep going. I'm running another half marathon this saturday and I kind of can't believe I'm actually doing that. I feel like a crazy person agreeing to do two half marathons within six days of each other. I love running and this week has taught me something important: training is essential! I think that if I can occasionally go out and run 10 miles, I'm fine to sign up for half marathons whenever I please. However, this isn't how I should approach them anymore. I need to keep up training in order to keep reaching better, faster times. I can't keep approaching them like "I can do this"; Instead, I need to approach them with "I can do this better." Otherwise, what's the point of doing them still? I did one and if all I care about is completing them, then why do I keep going? Why don't I just stop now? Instead, I need to let my drive to be better keep me going and inspire me to keep training. I've learned this week just how vital training is and that I need to keep training hard if I want to do better. I can't keep approaching each new feat with the same goal. Otherwise, it's silly to even be setting goals. I need to approach each new race with the goal of doing better than I had before and to keep training harder. 

Famous Last Words: Surviving Senioritis

Caption: The throwing of the caps at graduation. Link.

I knew senioritis was real because I experienced it in high school. I struggled to want to go to class, I didn't put as much effort into the assignments, etc. However, the teachers in high school were understanding. We were all going off to college, and that's what actually mattered. College senioritis has been an entirely different beast. I graduate in May and it's been the hardest semester of my life to stay motivated in school. I know that graduation is looming quickly, but I start medical school in August so I know the end isn't quite as near as I'd like for it to be. I've been coasting by this semester and admittedly even that has been hard for me. This is the first semester that I've ever turned in late assignments, that I've missed as much class as I have, and that I've just genuinely had no motivation. I've been trying to turn that around in the past couple of weeks but it's been getting hard. I'm hoping knowing that graduation is just 3 weeks away will give me the boost of motivation I need to get me going. After graduation, I will have one class in Norman in May and then it's off to Leipzig, Germany for me all summer to learn more German before starting Medical School. I'm really excited for my summer and I think that is making this semester even harder. I've been putting my assignments off even more than I usually do but I think I've found a way that can help me get through the rest of this semester and fight off the senioritis. I'm a list-maker. I love making lists and checking things off of them. I'm convinced that there is no better feeling than checking things off my list. So, for the last three weeks of the semester, I've become even more of an avid list maker. I've made a list of every assignment that must be completed before I graduate in May and it's been incredibly therapeutic to cross things off of that list. It's made working on the assignments a little easier because I can see my list getting shorter and shorter and that means I'm getting closer and closer to graduating and whisking away to Germany!